With the summer season just around the corner, Families will begin to take vacations and start to get outside more. With that in mind, staff members at the Fort Leonard Wood Safety Office want to make sure everyone stays safe this summer.

The Safety Office is sponsoring the 2017 Fort Leonard Wood Annual Safety and Health Fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, at Nutter Field House as part of the annual Safety Days running Monday through Thursday.

“The Fort Leonard Wood Annual Safety and Health Fair allows service members, civilian employees, Family members and the local community to receive personal safety and health awareness information on many different topics,” said Anita Dietz, Fort Leonard Wood safety specialist. “The information received at the fair will help everyone focus on safety and health, especially during the summer when more accidents usually occur due to the many warm-weather activities.”

First responders with the Fort Leonard Wood Fire Department will don their protective gear and provide a demonstration of a vehicle rescue including the use of the "jaws of life" at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Photo by Mike Curtis, Visual Information Center

The safety fair will feature about 50 interactive booths, displays and demonstrations for adults and children, Dietz said.

At 1:30 p.m., first responders with the Fort Leonard Wood Fire Department will don their protective gear and provide a demonstration of a vehicle rescue.

“This demonstrates what can happen if you are drinking and driving, texting and driving or not paying attention,” said Olaf Jensen, Fort Leonard Wood fire inspector.

To medically evacuate the “victims” trapped inside, responders will use the “jaws of life” to open a crushed vehicle.

Other booths and displays include a fire house that simulates a real house fire, a tornado simulator, the Missouri Highway Patrol’s seat belt convincer that mimics a low-speed vehicle crash and the Missouri Department of Transportation demonstration that allows participants to drive a go-kart through a maze of cones while using a cell phone or wearing drunk driving goggles, and more.

Other events during Safety Days include hazardous material turn in, falls in workplace training Monday, amnesty turn in Wednesday and a crash scene visual at the Main Post Chapel at 7:45 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. Thursday.

According to Dietz, knowledge and planning is the key to safety.

“Complacency and overconfidence contribute to many preventable injuries,” she said. “Thinking through tasks and activities and finding ways to mitigate hazards is the best way to stay safe, both on and off duty.”

The fair is free and open to the public.

For more information about the annual Safety Days or the Safety and Health Fair, call 573.596.0131, ext. 62967.